1. We Will ROCK The World! (The Effect of Freeze Damage on Rocks)

2. ABSTRACT
The purpose of this experiment is to see how rocks get damaged by the freeze-thaw effect. This experiment will help people see the damage freezing does on nature, so something can be done to prevent it more. Overall, the problem is, which type of rock will be the most damaged by freezing. The Freeze-Thaw Effect happens when water slips into cracks of the ground, then freezes, expanding about 10%. This can put pressure into its pores, cracking it even more. Because of this, my hypothesis was, if a concrete rock was kept inside the freezer, then it will be damaged the most. My experiment included three different rocks. Asphalt, concrete, and brick rocks were used in this experiment. The dependent variable, is the number of damages each rock had. The results of the experiment was interesting. An asphalt rock dealt with an average of 26 damages, a brick rock with 13 damages, and a concrete with 25 damages. Each rock happened to earn cracks and certain gaps throughout the experiment. The data proved that brick rocks are far more durable than asphalt and concrete. And also, that asphalt and concrete deals with more freeze-thaw effect. In conclusion, the hypothesis was proven wrong with a number difference from the asphalt rocks. If I happen to do this experiment again, I will try adding a mixture like salt or sugar in the water, and try to see the differences on the experiment.

3. PURPOSE
The purpose of this experiment is to see how rocks get damaged by the freeze-thaw effect. I decided to experiment on this to see the different results of each different types of rocks that people often see outside. There are a numerous amount of damage that you see with it that includes cracks and even potholes on the roads. These are all the cause of physical weathering, including the freeze-thaw effect. This experiment will help people see the damage freezing does on nature, so something can be done to prevent it more.

4. Which type of rock will be the most damaged by freezing?
PROBLEM
Which type of rock will be the most damaged by freezing?

5. LITERATURE RESEARCH (HISTORY)
There is also some history for my different levels, or rocks, too. The history of concrete started when very ancient items were cements, and were created by limestone or gypsum that were burned and crushed. After that, they combined sand and water to the cement to make mortar, which was a "plaster-like material used to adhere stones to each other." Every year how they made concrete, improved more and more by combining other materials with it. It will eventually morph into our present and modern concrete that we always see outside. Our concrete now is made using Portland cement, and fine aggregates of stone, sand, and water. There are also chemicals added to the concrete called Admixture, which controls its properties during environmental extremes like low or high temperatures, or strong wind conditions.

6. LITERATURE RESEARCH (HISTORY CONT.)
The history of bricks include being found in 7000BC in southern Turkey or around Jericho. The first ever bricks were mud that were dried by the sun. They also had fired bricks in the ancient times, but they also used it for harsher weather, since it's much more resistant. Ancient Egyptians later also used bricks and stamped them with a specific legion mark. Bricks were also very popular to the Greeks, since they used it more than others since it's much more durable and causes less erosion. On the 12th century, It was introduced to northern Germany and northern Italy, using it for great architecture called Brick Gothic. Bricks in the modern times now, are mostly used for constructing buildings and houses. It is mostly made by clay, but also calcium silicate and concrete. Bricks are weather resistant and much more helpful than other materials. It is made up of clay, sand, and water. Bricks do not always contain the same type of clay. However, it mostly uses clay with a small percentage of iron oxide or lime. When Silica is added to the clay, it will prevent shrinking, cracking, and warping towards the brick. _

7. LITERATURE RESEARCH (HISTORY CONT.)
You can almost always see asphalt on roads in the US. But, there is a big history behind this popular dark material. Asphalt rocks are mostly made of a mixture of sand, limestone, and of course, asphalt. It was first discovered and recorded around 615 BCE, by King Nabopolassar. Asphalt was very popular towards Greek and Romans since asphalt came from Greek, and Romans adopted that word. Later on, while Europeans were exploring the New World, they found many natural asphalt too. The first mixtures of asphalt were produced in the late 1860s. It was used on sidewalks, crosswalks, and also even roads. In 1870, a Belgian chemist by the name of Edmund J. DeSmedt made the first asphalt pavement, with sand mixed in. People later found out how durable asphalt was on roads and how it was as good as the ones in Europe. So, they all decided to construct more on others locations.

8. LITERATURE RESEARCH (SCIENCE)
One of the biggest concerns in this world are the damages on streets and sidewalks. This problem is called the Freeze-Thaw Effect. The Freeze-Thaw Effect happens when water slips into cracks of the ground, then freezes, expanding about 10%. This can put pressure into its pores, cracking it even more. Water molecules will continue passing through, freezing again, and repeating the same steps until the concrete breaks down. You might see random cracks on streets, along with other deteriorations like spalling and scaling of surfaces, chunks of rocks breaking off, and gaps around the damage. Of course, things can go wrong and can be worse than cracks on pavements and sidewalks. It can also create potholes on the streets. Potholes occur when water also slips in and freezes, causing the soil to break. It will eventually start to weaken because of many vehicles passing through. Physical weathering is one of the biggest problems because of this reason. Applying damage on streets, sidewalks, and pavements are definitely bad. It all depends on the moisture of the pavements.

9. LITERATURE RESEARCH (SCIENCE CONT.)
There is actually a method that can prevent this certain physical damage. This is called deicing chemicals. These chemicals mostly include sodium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and potassium chloride. It will help reduce the freezing point of the precipitation around the pavement, providing a strong air-entrained concrete. Air-entrained concretes are many microscopic air cells that help by curing the pressure and expanding instead. The expansion will help make "tiny chambers" for water to freeze instead. These strong concrete will usually take about 4% to 7% of the overall volume.

10. LITERATURE RESEARCH (SCIENCE CONT.)
The freeze-thaw effect also affects potholes, especially near the sub- pavement. The sub-pavement is where all the soil and all the gravel support the pavement as a whole. The cycle for the sub-pavement includes expansion- contraction that concludes to having bubbles, pushing the pavement up. In which, if a vehicle drives over that area, then it is likely for it to break and create huge potholes. This was actually a worldwide problem, as engineers from Mongolia made a document about freeze damage. It was stated that Mongolia actually experienced sub-zero temperatures during winter that caused their soil to collect freeze and cold until Spring. The freeze-thaw effect happened to be involved with the road traffic increase in Central Asia. However, when it warms up in North America, that is where the road traffic then increases. Because of bursting potholes, some drivers often call to report about "overnight potholes.”

11. HYPOTHESIS
If a concrete rock was kept inside the freezer, then it will be damaged the most

12. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN TABLE
Independent Variable: Different types of rocks
Asphalt rocks
Concrete rocks
Brick rocks
Dependent Variable: Number of damages
Constants:
Amount of water in each bottle
Approximately the same size of rock
Location of freezer
Temperature of freezer ( -19°C )

13. MATERIALS Different types of rocks in same size: Asphalt rocks
Brick rocks
Concrete Rocks
Measuring cup
Ruler
Empty water bottles (approximately 9 for the 3 trials)
Freezer
Water ( Tap Water will be used for this experiment )
Alarm clock
Magnifying Glass

14. PROCEDURES
Get out 3 water bottles and carefully cut them enough to fit the rocks in. (Mine was down to 14 cm.)
Fill it up to 250 mL of tap water on each water bottle
Drop the different rocks on each bottle
Put each bottle in the freezer
Alarm them for 7 hours
After the 7 hours, take them out and thaw the ice
Observe each rock and count the damages using the magnifying glass
Record it in a data-table
Repeat steps 2-8 for 2 more trials

15. DATA TABLE TRIALS TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3 AVERAGE ASPHALT 26 damages
25 Damages > Has Dents
> More than about ¾ are cracks > Split in half
29 Damages
> Wide gaps in cracks > Trapped water inside gaps
> Broken pieces falling
25 Damages
> Water trapped in deep holes and cracks > Broke in half
> Very fragile (bits and pieces falling)
26 damages
BRICK
16 Damages
> Thin cracks
> Mostly dents > Broken pieces
8 Damages
> Faint thin cracks
> No damages other than cracks
14 Damages
> Long and Thin cracks
> Small and short streaks
13 damages
CONCRETE
18 Damages
> One big crack that could break the rock
> Tiny cracks at the bottom of the rock
> 2 pieces broke off
34 Damages
> More cracks
> Had cracks on its minerals too
> Broken pieces
> Rock bits fell off
22 Damages
> More cracks at the bottom
> Much thinner than the ones in trials 1 and 2
> Unequal surface/dents
25 damages

16. GRAPH

17. DISCUSSION
The data showed the results of the rocks affected by freeze damage. It shows that Asphalt did more damages than Concrete and Brick rocks. The two levels that stood out for me, were the Asphalt and Concrete rocks. They were both changing in each trials, and was also very close in the average results, with a difference of 1. Although I was supposed to observe any damages on each rock, they were all mostly cracks and dents. The least damaged were the bricks, in which was indeed more durable than the other levels. From my research on bricks, Silica was very helpful on the clay when it comes to making them.
Overall, the hypothesis was proven wrong. The results were actually very close, but it still makes a difference. If I had to guess why the Asphalt did a slight more damage than Concrete, it would have to be from how fragile it was. More pieces of Asphalt fell, and it was also much more delicate than Concrete and Brick. If I had to do this experiment again, I would love to see if more hours also affect the more damage, or even starting with hot or boiled water instead of tap water. If I happen to do this experiment again, I will try adding a mixture like salt or sugar in the water, and try to see the differences on the experiment.

18. PICTURES

19. REFERENCES
Freeze-Thaw Cycles: Expansions and Contractions Cause Potholes. (2014, December 5). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from expansions-and-contractions-cause-potholes/
Freeze-Thaw. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from
Freeze-Thaw Resistance. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from concrete-books-learning/concrete-technology/durability/freeze-thaw-resistance
Physical Weathering. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from

20. REFERENCES CONT.
Freeze Thaw Damage on Concrete. (2006, August 21). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from
BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Freeze-Thaw Weathering. (2014). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from
Freeze Thaw Damage of Concrete - Effects & Preventive Measures. (2014, June 14). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from measures/
What is Air-Entrained Concrete? (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from

21. REFERENCES CONT.
Michael, O. (2011, January 24). Spalling Brick = Freeze-Thaw Damage. Retrieved October 10, , from
Gromicko, N., & Shepard, K. (n.d.). The History of Concrete. Retrieved October 13, 2015, from
The History of Bricks. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2015, from
History of Asphalt. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2015, from =41